Massive ‘Islamophobia industry’ flourishes in US

Local police and FBI investigators collect evidence and survey the scene where two gunmen were shot dead, after their bodies were removed in Garland, Texas May 4, 2015. (Reuters/Laura Buckman) / Reuters

There is a burgeoning industry provoking non-Muslims in Europe and in the US to attack Muslims and other ethnic minorities which is disproportional and only breeds further hatred, Mohammed Ansar, political and social commentator, told RT.

RT:There's been a whole string of incidents
in Europe similar to the attack in Texas, in which two gunmen
were killed Sunday outside a controversial art event depicting
the Prophet Muhammad cartoons and dedicated to free speech. Has a
new threat now arrived in America?

Mohammed Ansar: Clearly what we have seen is
that the attacks have been going on in Europe is the opening of a
long-held debate around freedom of expression, against freedom to
offend. Now we’ve seen this being picked up by what they call the
counter-jihadists movement here in America. And there is an
estimated $200 million Islamophobia industry now in the US. And
so we’ve seen - shortly after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo -
there was a stand by the Prophet Mohammed conference at this
exact same conference center in Garland, Texas, and now we’ve
seen hate preachers who have been banned from coming to Europe
like Geert Wilders, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, now have
something which will ostensibly incite hate and violence. Now
we’ve seen a reaction and I think it’s to be deplored on all
sides – the right to offend, the right to incite violence and
hatred, but also the violence and hatred that ensues. At this
time our thoughts and concerns have to be with the families of
those people who were slain.

RT:How do you put an end to such attacks?
What is fuelling them in the first place?

MA: The answer to hate is not more hate. The
answer to hate has to be to increase love, peace, tolerance and
coexistence in society. In the US they have a far more difficult
situation. In the UK and in Europe we have Article 10 of the
European Convention on Human Rights which talks about the freedom
of expression. Much is then held in Article 10, part 2, which
talks about limitations on freedom of speech. So we have nation
states in Europe who are quite used to putting certain
limitations around hate speech, around attacking minority groups
and spreading hate and fear and incitement of violence even in
the national interest in certain instances. In the US, in their
Conventions, they do have a constitutional right to freedom of
expression. However we’ve seen three Democratic Congressmen, I
think we saw Keith Ellison, Andre Carson, and Joe Crowley who
came forward and asked the Homeland Security and also the
Secretary of State, John Kerry, to put limitations on this. They
said that there is bedrock of freedom of speech in the US;
however what we don’t want to have is incitement of violence and
hate speech.

RT:Incidents like this do breed hate for
Islam, while there are millions of Muslims who are non-violent
law abiding citizens all across Europe and in the US. How can
governments address those tensions?

MA: Hate preachers like Geert Wilders, Pamela
Geller and Robert Spencer will want to give the idea that there
are millions of Muslims who have radical and extremist ideas.
Muslims have been living, co-existing and integrating in
communities. They are in fact the bedrock of the European
civilization whether it’s science or learning or education. So I
think the first thing we have to do is to stop the provocation
and stop the hate speech. There is no kind of apology for the
retaliation through violence. So people have the right of freedom
of expression. People also have the right not to be limited by
taboos of other people in the society. However there is a
burgeoning industry now in provoking non-Muslims in Europe and in
the US to attack Muslims. And this is disproportional. We saw the
argument with Charlie Hebdo before: they are not equal
opportunities offenders; they are targeting disproportionally
ethnic minorities and Muslims. So I think we have to restate what
the ground rules are. You have the right to freedom of
expression, freedom of speech. You don’t have the right to incite
hate; you don’t have the right to incite violence. And it is
certainly far more offensive to respond in violence than it is to
have the freedom of expression which some people may find
troublesome.

The US is not some sort of an island that ISIS could not reach

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack at an
exhibition in Texas featuring cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
The announcement was made on the group's radio station. According
to Marwa Osman, political Commentator in Beirut, this could very
well be the case.

RT:Do you believe this claim made by
Islamic State?

MO: Anything is anticipated from the Islamic
State. How hard can it be for the supporters of ISIS who actually
abide by the Wahhabi religion not to perform anything that is
considered dangerous in any nation? These people have come from
all over the world to Syria, to Libya, to the Middle East to
fight for some reason- no one knows why. It is obvious when they
return back to their homeland it is going to be dangerous and it
is going to be risky. Whether it is a provocative event or not,
it is going to be risky having them back in their homeland…

RT:With this announcement does this mean
that Islamic State is now functioning in the US?

MO: It has been functioning in the US before it
even came to the Middle East, before it came to us and brought
its terror to us… The US is not some sort of an island that ISIS
could not reach. It can simply reach the youth of America via
Twitter, Facebook, via social media in general. So it was
anticipated, but the event as well was by itself provocative for
such groups. They went out and performed their terror. Here we’re
talking about two different events that came into one event. The
FBI already knew about one of the suspects - his surname is
Simpson for the irony. They knew that he was an actual suspect
and they did nothing, he was free. Talking about the event, you
have people for months planning an anti-Islamic event to bring
out certain cartoons against Prophet Mohammed...

RT:What about a US political agenda? Does
this work for Washington that ISIS is allegedly in America?

MO: Of course, it is going to work as much as it
is working in France after what happened at Charlie Hebdo. It is
going to have the same effect on the entire American public, not
only on the Islamic public. Though, it’s going to be more of a
direct insult, let’s say on the Islamic public in America. Let’s
be very frank here: whether we support it or not we’re [Islamic
people] going to be targets.

RT:The US military launching Jade Helm 15
over the summer including a series of training, military drills
across the south-west with over a thousand special-ops troops.
ISIS is also operating in the south-west. Is it time for
conspiracy theories to put on their tinfoil hats?

MO: It is not a conspiracy theory. It is
planning, it is tactics, it is a full-time strategy that the US
is working on which explains what is going on in the Middle East.
In some countries they are fighting ISIS, and in the others -
they are sending arms for them to fight people or groups who the
US thinks that they have certain interest in eliminating from the
entire region of the Middle East. It is more obvious in the
Middle East than it is in the West. But now when it hits the
West’s homeland, people there are going to start thinking about
it. Unfortunately the propaganda, the media there is going to
play a very good game to convince the public that now ISIS is a
big threat and we have to go and fight. And the people will not
know whether the US will go and fight or where this fighting will
happen.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.